Academic appeals

The academic appeal process

The University of Manchester has an academic appeals procedure for students who wish to appeal against a final decision of a board of examiners, or a progress committee, or a graduate committee or equivalent body which affects a student’s academic status or progress in the University.

• Academic Appeals Procedure (Regulation XIX)
• Academic Appeals Form
• A basic guide to student academic appeals

Appeals process

1. Informal stage

A student thinking of appealing should discuss the matter with his or her academic adviser, personal tutor, supervisor, programme director or another appropriate person in the School before doing so in order to better understand the reason for the result or decision against which they wish to appeal.

2. Formal stage

If a student remains dissatisfied with the result or decision once informal avenues have been exhausted and believes there are valid grounds for appeal they may invoke the formal appeal procedure by submitting a completed academic appeals form to humappealsandcomplaints@manchester.ac.uk within twenty working days of notification of the result or decision.

• Academic Appeals Form

If a student feels that the outcome of the investigation by the Faculty of Humanities is unreasonable they have the right of appeal against this decision and may do so by writing to the Director of Teaching and Learning Support (within twenty working days from the date of notification of the decision). 

Once a student has completed the internal process the University issues them with a Completion of Procedures letter. If a student believes that their case has not been dealt with properly by the University or that the outcome is unreasonable they may be able to apply for a review of their appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) providing that the complaint they take to the OIA is eligible under its Rules. The OIA will consider cases only when the University's own internal appeal procedures have been exhausted. It will not intervene on matters which turn purely on academic assessment.

• Academic Appeals Procedure Flowchart

Key timings within the appeals process

Guidance for Schools and Faculty Postgraduate Research Panels (FPGRPs) on the Faculty procedures for student appeals

When the Faculty receives a formal appeal from a student we consider whether or not the appeal is made under one of the following grounds:

• That there exists or existed circumstances affecting the student's performance of which, for good reason, the board of examiners or committee may not have been made aware when the decision was taken and which might have had a material effect on the decision [Note: if students wish to appeal on such grounds, they must give adequate reasons with supporting documentation why this information was not made available prior to the decision being made.]
• That there had been a material administrative error or procedural irregularity in the assessment process or in putting into effect the regulations for the programme of study of such a nature as to cause significant doubt whether the decision might have been different if the error or irregularity had not occurred
• That there is evidence of prejudice or bias or lack of proper assessment on the part of one or more of the examiners
• That the supervision or training of the student in respect of research for a dissertation or thesis or equivalent work was unsatisfactory to the point that his or her performance was seriously affected

If it is judged that the appeal does not come under one of these grounds we notify the appellant within ten working days of the appeal being received that the appeal is not eligible, with reasons given.

If the appeal is shown to have been made on one or more of the grounds we send the appeal to the School and for FPGRP and invite comments. The comments received are then sent to the appellant who is invited to submit a response. The appeal is then considered by the Faculty when a decision will be taken to either uphold or reject the appeal.

If the decision the student is appealing was taken by a Faculty panel, we will seek their response first, before asking for a response from the School.

If the decision the student is appealing was taken at School level, we will proceed directly to requesting a School response.

The School/FPGRP response

The School/FPGRP response to a student’s appeal will be sent to the appellant who will be invited to submit a response. Below is advice on what to include (and not include) in the response.

• Each point of the student’s appeal should be addressed
• The response should include a clear statement as to why the student is in the position they are in and the decision they are appealing against
• The response should contain factual information, rather than personal opinion.
• Personal comments about the student, confrontational comments or comments about other students (except in general terms) must not be made
• Where the School/FPGRP refutes the content of the appeal information should be included to demonstrate that under the grounds for appeal that:
  • Mitigation has already been taken into account;
  • Due process has been followed;
  • Prejudice or bias or lack of proper assessment is unfounded
  • The supervision or training of the student was not unsatisfactory
• For appeals submitted on the basis of circumstances affecting the student's performance of which, for good reason, the board of examiners or committee may not have been made aware it is useful to comment on where / how the process is advertised to students, the student’s reason for not submitting mitigation at the appropriate time and whether or not the student has submitted mitigation previously (i.e. is aware of the process/deadlines etc)
• Where the School/FPGRP identifies that the student’s appeal has merit, details of the proposed remedy should be included. It may be appropriate to propose an alternative remedy to that sought by the student. It is important that this information is as detailed as possible so that all parties are clear about the precise nature of the remedy
• Where the School/FPGRP identifies that the student’s appeal has merit and that issues have been identified that have either affected other students or identified failure in the procedure the response should include information on how these will be addressed

Where an appeal made on the grounds of procedural irregularity is upheld, the Faculty will make recommendations to the School/FPGRP as a result of the findings.

Annual report

Each year, the Director of Teaching and Learning Support prepares a report for Senate on the number and nature of appeals, identifying any general issues that may have arisen. The annual report on student cases details the number and nature of cases handled each academic year by Faculties and Professional Support Services. The data reported relates only to formal cases and does not include the significant number of cases which are resolved informally by Schools, PSS Directorates, and other central service providers.

• Annual Reports

Reducing the caseload

Advice to staff on what can be done in seeking to minimise the number of appeal cases.

• Reducing the caseload

Guidance for Schools

The Teaching, Learning and Delivery Team has lots of useful information on its Appeals and Complaints webpages including:

• what to include in responses to the appeals;
• information about mitigating circumstances;
• advice about handling an appeal citing a disability;
• how we can work to reduce the caseload;
• what to do if you have concerns about the authenticity of evidence;
• letter templates.